The Reel Review
A husband and wife race to find their daughter after she frantically calls, telling them she’s struck a woman in a late-night car crash on a dark, winding road in a forest. Throughout their chaotic journey more shocking details emerge as they find themselves in a blur between reality and the supernatural. Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys star in this psychological folk-horror mystery.
Working from a screenplay by William Gilles in his feature film debut, director Babak Anvari seems more focused on cool, clever camerawork and “wait, what?” moments than telling a coherent story. Hallow Road is presented only from the parents’ perspective and leaves so many unanswered questions that it will infuriate any viewer with the patience to endure the tedium. Among them: Were the parents just experiencing psychotic breaks? Was the daughter’s call possibly from the afterworld? And what exactly is the supernatural element suddenly introduced in the third act? So many questions and frustratingly, there are no answers – only murky frustration.
Those curious about the Irish folklore element of the story will no doubt journey down the rabbit hole of trying to make sense out of this nonsensical film, but with its fake-looking set (the car looks like it is sitting on a soundstage) and clumsy, dull staging, it is probably wiser to just avoid this car crash of a film in the first place.
REEL FACTS
• Babak Anvari’s directing credits include 2022’s I Came By, 2019’s Wounds and 2016’s Under the Shadow.
• Hallow Road was filmed in just 17 days in both Ireland, and for the interior scenes, the Czech Republic.
• In Irish folklore, will-o’-the-wisps are mischievous spirits or even ghosts of the dead, eager to lead travelers off their path to their deaths.
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